Hot Putting Lifts Mochrie In 1st Round

3 Players 2 Shots Back At Crestar

CHESAPEAKE — A hot putter, cold ice bag and glorified rubber band allowed Dottie Mochrie to take the Crestar Classic first-round lead Friday at Greenbrier Country Club.

Mochrie, in her third season on the LPGA Tour, made five birdies on the back nine to shoot a 5-under-par 67, two shots better than Kathy Guadagnino, Rosie Jones and Deedee Lasker.

Patty Sheehan leads the five players at 2-under 70, while two-time defending champion Juli Inkster headlines the eight players at 1-under. Beth Daniel, Betsy King and Ayako Okamoto, Nos. 2-4 on the 1990 money list, all struggled, Daniel with a 76, King and Okamoto with 74s.

Mochrie, 24, is considered one of the Tour's top young players, and she won the Oldsmobile LPGA Classic last season. But Friday's 67 was a surprise.

"It's been a disappointing year," she said. "I made a swing change that I think will benefit me in the long run, but I've struggled with it. Plus, I've been injured. I've got a couple of minor tears in my rotator cuff. I'm thrilled with (the round). This is better than good."

Mochrie's condition is simple. Her left shoulder is worn out. Surgery isn't yet necessary, but Mochrie must ice the shoulder after each round and begin each day with a series of motion exercises. The only prop is a long, wide, elastic band Mochrie anchors in a door and stretches with her arms.

"It bothers me when I sleep on my left side or when it's cold or rainy," Mochrie said. "But with proper rest and care, there's no reason I can't play. Greg Norman has the same thing."

Mochrie was diagnosed a month ago and withdrew from a tournament in San Diego. The Tour then had a three-week gap before last week's event in Nashville, Tenn. Mochrie didn't touch a club for 2 1/2 weeks.

"I was afraid what would happen when I started to hit balls," she said. "But I can't believe how solid I'm hitting it, and I didn't think I'd hit it nearly as long as I am."

Mochrie tied for 45th last week, but didn't putt as well as she did Friday. After parring the first nine holes, she made a downhill 15-footer at the 10th for birdie. A 7-iron to within three feet set up a birdie at No. 13. Then Mochrie made 20-foot birdie putts at Nos. 14, 16 and 17.

She hit two perfect shots at the par-5 18th, but skulled a wedge over the green, down a hill and under the bleachers. After getting relief, she chipped to 10 feet below the hole and made the uphill putt.

"The (windy) conditions were really tough to start out," Mochrie said. "But if you hit it solid, the wind won't bother it as much."

Lasker calls herself "one of the best ball-strikers out on Tour." But she is winless in her seven-plus seasons and hasn't finished in the top five of any tournament since 1985.

The reason is putting. Lasker missed several short birdie putts again Friday, but said, "I hit good putts. I had to tell myself it wasn't my stroke."

Jones also is searching for confidence in her putter. If she finds it, look out. Jones won three tournaments in 1988 and expects better this season. She's seventh on the money list and has finished no worse than eighth in her last four events.

Still, Jones made a 30-footer for birdie on No. 7 and saved par with a 20-footer at No. 8.

"I pulled a 4-iron (at No. 8)," Jones said. "It was my only bad swing of the day. The wind was swirling. At one point you were thinking about 5-iron and when it came time to hit, it might be a 7-iron. That was the hardest part."

Pulling the wrong club caused Guadagnino to bogey her final hole, the par-3 9th. She hit a 3-iron well over the green, chipped to within four feet and missed the putt.

Guadagnino had moved to 4-under with 25-foot birdie putts at Nos. 4 and 7.

Guadagnino won the 1985 U.S. Open and '88 San Jose Classic. She is seven months pregnant with her first child.